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September 10, 2026
On Tuesday afternoon I was on a call demoing the toolbox to the team that runs a transition program at one of the biggest names in military finance. Good call. They'd run Best State on their own numbers and one of them found $28,000 a year he didn't know he was leaving on the table.
Then the guy who runs the program asked me a question I couldn't answer.
"Can the Career Pathway Tool show certification reciprocity by state? Say an 88M gets out and moves to Texas. Which of his certs already transfer, and what does Texas make him redo?"
I said it was buildable. What I didn't say is that I'd assumed that data existed somewhere and I'd just never needed it. So I hung up and went looking.
It doesn't exist. Not at DoD, not at the VA, not at any state. DoD COOL will tell you which civilian credentials relate to your MOS. It will not tell you whether Texas honors them. That's a state question, 51 different answers, and nobody has ever put them in one place.
Here's what Texas actually does for that 88M. He walks into DPS with one form (CDL-3B), his commander's signature, and a clean record, and he walks out with a Class A. No written test. No road test. The federal rule is 49 CFR 383.77 and it has been on the books for years. The same 88M moving to Maryland gets the road test waived but still sits the written exams. And there's a clock on all of it: you apply within a year of separation, and a temporary FMCSA waiver stretches that to two years, but only until October 29.
That's one job and one license. Nobody at TAP walked me through any of this, and I'd bet nobody walked you through it either.
So I spent the next 48 hours building it. Tool #23 went live today.
Your one stop shop for figuring out what certifications you received in the military will transfer in each state. 88M, Texas. One form, zero tests, and the source and date I checked it on, right on the card.
What the DoD already knows about your MOS
Enter your branch, your MOS, rating, or AFSC, and the state you're headed to. You get two layers.
The first is DoD COOL. The Department of Defense already maps every military job to the civilian credentials that relate to it. I pulled the full tables for all five services, about 63,000 job-to-credential links, so you see them ranked in one place instead of clicking through five different sites. If you're still in, the exams your service will pay for are flagged. That money ends on your separation date, not a day after.
Every credential COOL links to your job, ranked, with the ones your service still pays for marked.
The part that changes at the state line
The second layer didn't exist until this week. For the licensed jobs that change when you cross a border, I built hand-verified tables for all 50 states and DC: 31 occupations, 1,632 state rows, and every row shows its source, the date I checked it, and a flag that says verified, likely, or unknown. If I couldn't confirm something, the tool says "unknown" instead of guessing.
The 31: CDL and its endorsements, EMS, medic-to-LPN nursing routes, nurse aide, firefighting, police, corrections, security guard, private investigator, electrician, HVAC, plumbing, fire alarm and low-voltage, boiler operator, crane operator, contractor licensing, water and wastewater operator, pharmacy tech, radiologic tech, surgical tech, lab tech, dental assistant, respiratory therapist, veterinary tech, optician, vehicle inspector, teaching, real estate, insurance, and the Coast Guard captain's license with each coastal state's charter rules on top. Plus the federal cards (FAA, NRC nuclear, commercial diving) where no state gets a say.
Quick break for this issue's sponsor (it's what keeps all 23 tools free), then the part of this tool I'm proudest of:
2 minutes. Your URL. A customer profile worth using.
Most founders can describe their product. They can't describe their customer. Not in a way that actually changes how they sell.
HubSpot for Startups built a free tool to fix that. Paste in your URL, answer a few quick questions, and it generates a structured profile of your best-fit customer. Firmographics, buying triggers, the works.
Takes 2 minutes. No spreadsheet required.
Flip it around: check the license you already hold
Pick a credential instead of an MOS and the tool draws a map of all 51 jurisdictions: green honors it, gold honors it with conditions, red doesn't, gray I couldn't confirm. Click any state for the full card, then jump straight into Best State for Veterans to see what that state does for you on taxes and benefits on top of the license.
And every card shows what the job pays where you're going, straight from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: the median and the middle half for that occupation in that state. An 88M in Texas: median $56K, most drivers between $47K and $65K. A Coast Guard BM who gets his captain's license in Florida: median $76K.
One credential, 51 jurisdictions, and what it pays in each one.
What surprised me in the data
Six things I didn't expect to find once the tables were done:
18 states let a medic or corpsman challenge the nurse aide exam with no civilian course. Idaho refuses, in writing.
23 states shorten or waive the police academy for military police. Six of those added the route in 2025. Florida, where I live, still doesn't.
Washington passed a rule last August that names the military radiography program and accepts it for the state license.
Colorado's water operator board credits military training at 40 hours a month, up to half the experience requirement.
No state credits military crane experience, and OSHA makes the military qualification non-portable. Sometimes the honest answer is no, and I'd rather the tool say it than let you plan around a maybe.
Florida exempts veterans from both the insurance filing fee and the pre-licensing course. New Mexico waives every real estate licensing fee for three years.
What this tool won't tell you
Same deal as every tool I ship. I'd rather you trust it than be impressed by it:
It's a reference, not a licensing decision. The licensing board, the DMV, the POST commission, or the EMS office decides. The tool gives you the form and the citation to bring them. Bring them.
About 4 percent of the rows are gray. Those are agencies that block automated lookups or publish nothing I could verify. Gray means "I don't know," not "no." Call the board.
It can't see your record. Driving record, years in the job, medical training level, NREMT status, MP course completion: you enter those, and the verdict is only as good as what you type.
The pay bands are statewide. BLS median and middle half for that occupation in that state, May 2025 data. Houston and Amarillo are not the same number.
The service-paid exam flags follow your service's COOL rules, and those rules have their own eligibility fine print. Confirm with your education center before you count on the money.
There are occupations I haven't reached yet. Thirty-one is where version one stopped. It's not where it ends.
Why I built this
The guy who asked me that question on Tuesday wasn't asking for himself. He was asking for the 88M who's going to move to Texas next spring and pay for a CDL course he doesn't need, because nobody told him the state would hand it to him for a form and a signature. I don't want that guy to be one of you.
If you hold a license and your state's card is wrong, or your MOS maps to something that isn't on the list yet, hit reply and tell me. I'll verify it, fix it, and the row will carry the date I did. I’m still actively building this out, so any gaps you see please do tell me. There are so many certifications that could be listed, I want to make sure I capture them all.
Talk soon,
Zak
P.S. If you're still in, run it in "Show me every credential I qualify for" mode and look for the exams your service pays for. That funding stops on your separation date, and the tool tells you which ones to knock out before then.
More free tools, one hub
Career Pathway Translator: any MOS or rating turned into civilian career paths with real hiring pipelines, 145 careers deep.
Best State for Veterans: all 50 states ranked for your specific rating and situation.
Salary Translator: your military pay converted into the civilian salary you actually need to break even.
Benefits Finder Quiz: a few questions, every benefit you're leaving on the table.
Stay informed. Stay empowered. -- The Better Veteran
The Military Credential Transfer Tool is an educational reference, not a licensing decision, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Defense, DoD COOL, the VA, or any state licensing authority. State rules are drawn from each state's licensing statute, board rules, DMV and POST guidance, and 49 CFR 383.77, each cited and dated inside the tool. Wage figures are BLS May 2025 state estimates. The licensing board, DMV, POST commission, or EMS office decides; bring them the form and the citation shown in the tool.
